Pork Souvlaki

One of my very first memories of cooking is when I was about three and I was sitting on the large butcher block in my parents Greek food lounge on 27th St. in downtown Ogden, Utah. My mother would let me grab toddler-sized handfuls of dried Greek oregano and let me “make it rain” all over the cubed pork over the massive tubs my mom would use to make souvlaki for the restaurant. Salt,granulated garlic, pepper, lemon juice, I would watch as she would eye the amount needed for each 20 or so pounds she would season at a time. My mom learned to Grill cook out of necessity she had, had her children, and in the past done a lot of front of house work, but then in the eighties she went to work for one of her many mentors (whom I will not name to protect the innocent), they had a love/hate relationship, but mainly love, as they still greet each other with pleasantries when they bump into each other at the South Ogden Greek Festival. Ma was kind of a renegade in the much male dominated grill cook biz that was Ogden in the 80’s. She was my example of the “We can do it” signs that feature “Rosie the Riveter” flexing her bicep. She is one of the best short order cooks I have ever seen in action, as I was forced to work as her dish slave for many years at a few different joints in Ogden, after our place on 33rd closed down. To this day I have never seen someone who can so perfectly grill a top sirloin steak and make it as tasty as ribeye with the tenderness of filet. My mom made souvlaki out of about every protein the local hunters and amateur farmers could bring us, but the first one we ever sold at the restaurant was pork and i’m giving you my “slightly different than the original but how I remember it” version.
You will need for six skewers:
2 lbs, cubed pork sirloin roasts, I have found this is the perfect cut for this, shoulder is probably what was used, but honestly its not as lean and tasty as sirloin.
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 tsp. dried Oregano
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tamari or regular soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp. chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 bamboo skewers
Marinate pork with all the other ingredients, making sure each piece of pork is well saturated, at least 30 minutes but even better overnight. Grill over high heat for about five minutes per side. Squeeze more lemon juice on top, serve with rice, bread, or over salad. Great for summer BBQ’s!